


They Knew

by Zeppelin31



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Big Brother Dean, Big Brother Sam, Demons, Family, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Minor Character Death, Protective Dean Winchester, Protective Sam Winchester, Torture, Winchester Sister
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-05-31 13:27:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6471778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeppelin31/pseuds/Zeppelin31
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Sam find out they have another sibling, Avery. When they find her she's seven years old, hiding under the kitchen sink because her mother was brutally murdered by the yellow eyed demon in front of her. This is the story of when they met and how they grow closer over the years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Baby Sister

**Author's Note:**

> *This fic will have several chapters I hope to update weekly/ bi- weekly.  
> *There are no graphic depictions of violence/ torture/ kidnapping in this chapter but there will be in later chapters.  
> * I'm still learning how to format things on this website so I apologize for the lack of indentations. 
> 
> HOPE YOU ENJOY!  
> \- PLEASE PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THE STORY, I AM A NEW WRITER AND AM LOOKING TO IMPROVE.

Sam and Dean Winchester were no strangers to violence and monsters. They were raised to be hunters: strong, brave and fearless. They were raised to be independent, yet they depended so heavily on each other it bordered on unhealthy. Sam and Dean both yearned for a normal life they knew they could never have, because in the end they were hunters and hunters died young and bloody. They knew they could never raise kids of their own and they knew they would never have a child looking up to them, never call them “Dad” or “Uncle”. What they didn’t know was that a child would look up to them, they would go to parent teacher conferences (mostly Sam because education was mostly his thing), and they would attend countless soccer games in support of their favorite player who they would bring out to dinner at the local diner that same night.  
What Sam and Dean didn’t know until they were age 26 and 22 was that they had a little sister who their father hadn’t told them about. They found out through tragedy, a call their father answered after they had found him that would lead to an unfinished hunt and all three of them packing up to travel Indiana. John didn’t disclose what was waiting for them, and neither boy could fathom what was so important that they had left a hunt unfinished but they went along, Sam a little begrudgingly, and Dean without question. When they pulled up to an old, gray bungalow home the boys didn’t know what to expect but when they saw the tragedy before them, they knew that wasn’t it.

______________________

 

“Dean, you take the back door, Sam and I will cover the front. Clear the house then meet in the living room. Be careful, we don’t know if there’s anything still in there but chances are if it is, it’s ugly.” John’s voice was barely above a whisper yet it carried a tone so sure that neither boy questioned it. “Yes, Sir” Dean responded out of pure instinct and he began to move to the back of the house.  
Finding the back door cracked open slightly, Dean drew his gun and began to move forward. As he entered the dark house he smelled an odd odor, one tinted with copper and sulfur. Blood? Demons? What the hell is going on here? Dean’s brain was working through the scent as he made his way through what looked liked it was supposed to be a sunroom sun room but was currently being used as storage. When he pushed through the next door the scent got stronger and his heart started to beat faster. He could hear his father and his brother making their way through the house. One on the stairs to the second floor and one on the stairs to the basement. He shined his flashlight further into the kitchen and immediately took in a sharp breath.

 

_____________________

 

Sam didn’t know what to expect, his father hadn’t exactly been forthcoming with the details of their trip, so he steeled himself and readied himself for the possibility that anything could jump out at him. He walked up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and directed his flashlight down the seemingly narrow hallway. He entered the first bedroom on the left, seeing a long chest of drawers lined with pictures of a woman and child. The bed was made and on the nightstand was a book left open to the page which he could only assume was the owner’s most recently read words. He opened the small closet, finding nothing but clothes, and let out a breath he didn’t even realize that he had been holding.  
Sam moved out of that room and into the one on the right side of the hallway. Even in the dim light he could see the walls painted purple and a giant “A” hanging over the neatly made twin sized bed. Just like in the first room he opened the closet finding nothing but clothes and made the decision to move to the bathroom and storage closet located in the same hallway. In his search for something supernatural Sam failed to notice the pictures lining the hallway, ones with his father and the young girl at the carnival, at her kindergarten graduation, and most recently at her dance recital. Coming up empty handed Sam headed back downstairs where John was just reaching the living located at the bottom of the stairs.

___________________

Dean walked into the living room, separated from the kitchen by a dining room, and looked his father in the eye. “I think you’d better see this”. At his son’s words his heart dropped, Sam had already told him he found nothing, not even a person, but John could sense in Dean’s tone that something was wrong. That something terrible had happened and John found himself praying for the first time since Mary died. Please God let my baby girl be okay. I’ll do anything.  
When he walked in the kitchen he saw a bloody body on the small island, the long blonde hair hanging off the edge. He looked up at Dean, who visibly swallowed and shook his head, indicating the woman hadn’t made it through the torture she had endured. John’s knees nearly gave out right then and there, the smell of her blood and sulfur assaulting his senses, but then he remembered his daughter. None of the three men had been able to locate her. What if the demon got her? What if I lost my daughter? John rubbed at his forehead, distraught and fearful. His emotions got the best of him and he swung his leg hard into the cabinet under the sink. They would have missed the small whimper that came from under the sink if it hadn’t of been for the choked of sob that followed directly after. John bent down and slowly he pulled the cabinet door open.

____________________

When the door swung open the silence, that had pretty much been deafening, was over. When the cabinet door opened they saw a young girl, who the boys would later find out was only 7 years old, crying in a ball squeezing herself into the corner of the cabinet. Avery looked through wet lashes to see her Daddy, looking sad, and reaching out for her.  
John’s heart broke when Avery shied away from him when he tried to get her out of the cabinet. “It’s okay sweetie, it’s just Daddy, you’re safe now”. If John had turned around in that moment he would have seen his boys’, both brows contorted with confusion. They shot each other glances, yet another indication of their understandable confusion, and Dean just shrugged his shoulders.  
“Daddy?” The little girl spoke, sounding so broken and afraid. “Yeah Avery, it’s just me. Now come on, let’s get you out of there” When Avery crawled out she immediately buried her face in between John’s shoulder and neck, not wanting to see what the mean men had done to her Mommy. John admired his daughter, even at 7 she was so strong- willed, so independent, much like Dean was after his mother died and he’d been forced to take care of Sammy, but in that moment he remembered her age. He could feel her tears on his jacket as he cradled her head, letting her know she was safe and lead them all out the front door and into the Impala.  
“Avery, honey, we’re gonna go for a little vacation. Can you get in the backseat and buckle yourself in or do you need help?” John looked at his daughter’s face, she looked almost insulted. “I can do it myself Dad”. John lowered the girl in the back seat and closed the door. Glancing quickly through the window to make sure she had in fact buckled herself in. “You guys drive her back to the motel while I pack her a bag”  
“Dad, don’t you think she’d rather be with you? I mean we’re complete strangers and we didn’t even know about her until 10 minutes ago” Sam’s voice spoke in the night next, filled with accusation, a tone John was used to hearing from his youngest son. “Sam, please, I just need to…..need to decide what we’re going to do with her body and I can’t do that with her little girl sitting next to me” With that the the boys got into the car and John walked back into the house.

____________________

“Hey kiddo, my name’s Dean, this is my brother Sammy, we’re gonna take you somewhere safe now, okay?” Dean glanced in the rearview mirror at the girl, her green eyes glistening with tears, and her cheeks red and puffy. She nodded her head yes and looked out the window. Sam tried to talk to Avery but she just ignored him, staring out the window and crying silently. 

_____________________

Fourty- five minutes later John arrived at the motel. When he walked in he saw Avery on the couch with Sam whispering to him about tv shows she liked while Sam searched for them on the guide. Dean had texted him that he was going out to get some food for the group of them before the local diner closed. John dropped the bag he had packed for his daughter on the bed nearest to the door and unzipped it. He pulled out a clean pair of pajama pants and a night shirt then approached the small girl now engrossed in cartoons.  
“Hey kiddo, are you having fun with Sammy?” She still had tear stained cheeks but she nodded her head yes, just like when Dean told her she was now safe. “Why don’t we get you in the bath? I brought you your favorite pajamas.” Again, the child nodded yes and John carried her to the bathroom. As he let the water run he realized the girl was still standing there, in her school clothes she had been wearing when they found her. “Do you want me to leave?” Yet again, she nodded her head yes. 

_________________

After her bath Avery was visibly tired but stayed awake long enough to eat the chicken fingers Dean had bought for her. While she was bathing the boys explained to them that she was their sister. That he had met her mother on a hunt in town. He even told them about how he tried to be there for the girl in ways he hadn’t been for them. While both children felt a pang of jealousy They also knew the girl didn’t deserve to grow up the way they had.  
“So, Dean told me he told you him and Sammy were brothers. But there’s something else you should know” John addressed Avery in what could be considered a pleasant tone for the hardened hunter. Avery, suddenly a bit less tired looked at him with wide eyes. “I’m your Daddy and I’m Sam and Dean’s, which makes you guys brothers and sister.” “I have brothers?” “Yeah, and I’m gonna tell you a little secret but don’t tell Dean, okay?” Sam leaned across the table a bit to appear as if he was gonna whisper in Avery’s ear but still spoke loud enough to be heard. “Dean’s the greatest big brother ever. You’re gonna love him” Dean felt pride well up in his chest and couldn’t help but mirror the smile he saw on everybody else’s faces. 

_______________

Once Avery was asleep, John left to burn the bones of the woman who reminded him so much of his Mary. Sam went with him while Dean stayed behind to watch the child. It was 3:27 according to the neon alarm clock residing on the night stand. He was watching a movie with only the subtitles on, so as not to wake the girl, and was laying on the bed closest to the door while his baby sister slept on the other one. I can’t believe I have a little sister. Dean thought to himself.  
Lost in his thoughts, Dean was brought back to reality when he heard Avery crying. She was thrashing on the bed, fearful of the monsters residing behind her eyelids. He quickly went over to her, running his hand through her hair and speaking softly like he used to when he Sam had bad dreams.  
“Hey sweetie, it’s okay you’re safe now. Your big brother has you now, nobody will hurt you” What Dean didn’t realize was that the girl had woken up and was now staring up at him. “Promise?” “Of course I promise, now try to get some sleep”. When he tried to move away the girl grabbed his hand and had a pleading look in her eyes, silently begging him not to leave her alone. Dean obliged, laying down next to her. The 7 year old placed her head on his chest and slowly drifted off into a sleep not plagued by nightmares. Dean fell asleep himself, waking when his father and brother returned home. Seeing Dean with Avery reminded him of when he was younger and Dean kept him safe at night. John knew he wouldn’t be sleeping so he took his place on the couch while Sam took his in the bed closest to the door. John knew the girl would be safer with Bobby until they caught this demon, so the next morning he ordered the boys to bring her there while he followed up leads on the son of a bitch. Little did she know she would be spending a lot longer than a few weeks there like her father had promised. Dean and Sam knew though, that that little girl was going to be the most important thing in their lives from here on out. They knew she deserved a good life, and they were determined to give her that.


	2. They Knew; Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery's been living with her Uncle Bobby for around 7 years when tragedy strikes her family yet again. This is a continuation of the boys meeting their little sister and the relationship they develop with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter focuses more on the relationship with Avery and Bobby, the next chapter will focus more on the boys. 
> 
> Poor Avery can't catch a break, but what do you expect? I mean she is a Winchester.
> 
> Please leave comments so I can improve my work!
> 
> ENJOYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

John died a week after he made the boys drop Avery off with Bobby Singer. She had grown to be 5 feet 6 inches with long brown hair and green eyes. If Bobby didn’t know better he would have thought her and the boys shared two parents, not just one. She was a perfect mix between the brothers. Her personality too, was much like her brothers. She was sarcastic, emotionally shut off, and would eat a burger everyday just like her brother Dean but loved reading and school like Sam. Bobby was at the makeshift kitchen table in the cabin, reading up on leviathans and hoping he could figure out how to kill them once and for all. Sam and Dean were deep in it, how they were still alive was a mystery to him. He supposed they had been through worse but still, the target on their back just wouldn’t shrink. Avery was well aware of what was going on, the girl was smart, at nearly 15 years old she was also bored sitting in the cabin when she should be at soccer tryouts. “Uncle Bobby?” The nerves she had been suppressing getting the better of her as her voice caught in her throat and her Uncle eyed her with a worried look. “What’s up Avery?” “It’s just, don’t you think we should have heard from the boys by now? I mean it’s been 5 days since they last called?”. Bobby sighed. He couldn’t deny that. He also couldn’t deny that much like the girl sitting across the room from him, those boys were like his own kids. He knew they could handle themselves but things were bad out there. Hell, those sons of bitches came to his house and burned it down.

________________

“AVERY?!” The silence that answered him would of been deafening if it hadn’t of been for the roaring of the flames that surrounded him and the cracking of wood as the house began to crumble. “AVERY!” This time he was answered by coughs, the relief her felt was quickly overtaken by worry. “Uncle Bobby, I can’t get out!” “Its alright Kid, climb out the window in my room! I’ll …” His coughing interrupted his instructions. “I’ll come around back and help you down!”.   
Avery did as she was told, trusting her Uncle’s instincts. She opened the window and began climbing out, putting her feet out the window and onto the lattice that lined the house while her stomach was on the window sill. She made her way down, listening to her uncle’s encouraging words and when she was close enough to the bottom she simply jumped off. Her hands ached from the heat that had taken over the side of the house and when she looked at then they were raw, red, and bleeding. Before she had time to think about the pain Bobby grabbed her by the arm, dragging her into piles of junk cars, and into a hiding place.   
“Hey, Sunshine, you alright there kid?” Avery hadn’t told Bobby about her hands, there had been no time, and the pain wasn’t unbearable. She hadn’t noticed she had been staring at them though, mesmerized by the bubbling that started to appear around the cuts, that must have been what got Bobby’s attention. “Huh? What? Yeah, yeah I’m fine. My hands are just sore, that’s all”. Bobby knew that sore, meant pain. He had seen the girl nearly dislocate her knee at a soccer game and just roll over and keep playing. He didn’t know the extent of her injury until that night when she was laying on the couch when he woke at two in the morning to get a snack with ice on her leg. When he looked at the leg he knew something was wrong and rushed her to the ER. They performed surgery on her torn ligament a week later, demanded she go to physical therapy 3 weeks later, and after 2 months of physical therapy she was in the backyard taking shots on the goal he had bought her for her ninth birthday. Right before he asked to see her hand they heard the boys yelling for them.  
“Yeah, yeah stop yelling yah idjits we’re right here.” Bobby’s remark was typical of him, the boys had every right to think they were dead but yet Bobby made them feel like they were being overdramatic, this earned a chuckle from the teenager next to him. “Are you two alright? What the hell happened?” Sam’s voice was still filled with concerned. “We’re fine, Dick’s guys came and tried to barbecue us though.“. That night they headed for the cabin, leaving behind the home Avery had grown up in since she was 7. The one where she studied for tests and made dinner with her uncle who had become more like her father. Her favorite part of that house though was the memories she shared there with her whole family; the water fights with her brothers in the summer, the countless number of soccer games her uncle had attended, and everything from family dinner to family movie nights. The house itself wasn’t all that special, it was what it represented; safety, love, and family.

___________________

 

A few months later Avery got a call from Sam, she could tell he was upset. He gave her the address of the hospital and all she could was sprint from school and hope her Uncle wasn’t too badly injured. When she walked into the trauma center, what she saw almost made her turn around out of fear, both of her brothers had tear streaked cheeks. She ran up to them, boots loud on the floor and demanded an explanation. “Avery, I … we… I’m so sorry. This wasn’t supposed to happen, Dick, he grabbed him, he shot him in the head….. We… we couldn’t …..I’m sorry.” Dean’s stuttered words and choked off sobs were all she needed to hear. She knew things didn’t look good, but she refused to give up hope. Before she responded a doctor emerged from the room across from them. “Are you all here on behalf of Mr. Singer?”. “Yes, he’s my father, please tell me he’s okay.”. Avery’s eyes shone with unshed tears when the doctor took a breath and began “He has serious brain trauma, to be honest it does not look good. He does seem strong though so we’re hopeful that the swelling will go down in his head and we will be out of the woods. Until that happens we can’t be sure though. “ “So you’re say he could get better?” “ Yes, but it is unlikely miss. “. The doctor left with a sorrowful look on his face.   
Not even a minute after the doctor left, another man appeared before them, requesting that Dean speak to him about some paperwork. Dean left and Avery looked to her other big brother. “Sam, he’ll be fine. He’s gonna fight just like he always does” “I know you want to believe that but we have to be prepared Avery. I don’t want to lose him either but don’t get your hopes up”. Somewhere down a hallway Dean was in a similar argument, telling the man he wouldn’t sign over his uncle’s organs. There was no point, he would make it.   
A little while later they finally permitted the small family to visit their patriarch. Avery finally cried all her unshed tears at the sight of the man on the bed before her. She sat on the chair next to him, placed his hand in hers, and placed her forehead on top of both of their heads. She spoke to him softly “Uncle Bobby? The doctors said you might not be able to hear us, but that means there’s a chance you might. I want you to know how much we all love you, how much you mean to us. I believe you can fight this, you’re Bobby Singer for christ’s sake, but you don’t have to. I need you Uncle Bobby but if you’re ready to move on then…. Then you should go. They boys will look out for me, or maybe I’ll look out for them. I’m not really sure how that would work.” The end of her speech ended with a huff that was almost like a burst of laughter from herself because seriously who would look out for who? When she picked her face up the man who she adored looked back at her, reaching for a pen on the table. Dean rushed to give it to him and Sam handed over the notepad. The Doctors rushed in demanding they leave, Bobby handed them the notepad with a series of number on it. Before anybody could ask what it meant Bobby mumbled “Idjits” and he was gone.

__________________

The Winchesters thought nothing could get worse after the loss of Bobby, except they could. Sam and Dean had taken Castiel out of the mental hospital and brought him to find Dick Roman. Avery demanded she be allowed to go, to avenge the death of the only father she ever knew, and was quickly shot down by her brothers. They refused to lose her, even though she was capable of hunting, they didn’t want to take a chance. Little did they know one of them wouldn’t be coming back that night and it was just as devastating. 

_________________

“Sam what the hell are you talking about? What do you mean Dean’s gone? Where’s his body?” Avery refused to believe she had lost her brother, the universe couldn’t be that cruel, could it? “He killed Dick and then he was just gone. I looked for a while but there’s no sign of him anywhere. He’s just gone.” Sam himself was devastated. That was his big brother and no matter how much he insisted he didn’t need his big brother to protect him, he needed him for comfort. He didn’t know how to take care of a teenaged girl on his own. He knew though, that Dean wanted him to stop hunting and live a normal life, especially since he and Avery were now on their own. “Sam! Are you even listening to me? We HAVE to start looking harder. He can’t just be gone, he has to be somewhere.” “We’re not looking Avery, he’s gone and he wouldn’t want us hunting without him.” Sam tried not to let his sadness creep through his voice but his sister knew him well enough to hear it, hell the only person that knew him better than his sister was his brother. But his brother was gone and they just had to live with that.  
Sam drove for hours, occupying the seat in the Impala that belonged to the eldest Winchester. Avery just sat in the passenger seat with her headphones in, ignoring Sam’s request that she not look for Dean, and read what little lore they had scrounged from Bobby’s on leviathans. Avery would not give up, she had already lost both brothers more than once and knew that life without both of them was lonely. There were three of them and without the third they all grew lonely, aching to speak to the missing link.   
“Holy Shit!” Sam screamed, grabbing his sister’s attention for the first time in 3 hours. He tried to swerve but he caught the dog anyways. He and Avery got out of the car and wrapped the dog in a blanket and quickly located the nearest veterinary hospital. That’s how they ended up living in the middle of nowhere, Sam with a girlfriend and a job, Avery with school and a lonely search for her eldest brother. Eventually Dean came back, pretty much resurrected like every other time he died. He and Sam fought about the fact that Sam didn’t search for him. Avery was just happy she had her family together again, fights and all. When Sam asked about Cas Dean just said “He didn’t make it.”. He refused to delve into it. Cas had grown to be a part of the family too, and he really was gone. For a while after that they thought they would never see him again, but of course that wasn’t the case.   
A few months later they discovered they were legacies of something called the “Men of Letters”. They met their grandfather, Henry WInchester, and moved into what would be home for a long time after that. The bunker wasn’t as cozy as Bobby’s house but they knew they would make it a home. They knew Avery could go to one high school like she had in Sioux Falls and they knew she would live the closest thing to a normal life they could give her. Sam and her went for runs in the morning and he helped her with her homework. Dean taught her how to fight and shoot, just in case she ever needed to. They didn’t make her train their their father had made them, it was her choice, but she always chose whatever activity meant spending the most time with her brothers. They knew they would never be normal, but they also knew they were a family and what’s more important than that?


End file.
